This image released by HBO shows Kit Harington in a scene from "Game of Thrones." (AP Photo/HBO, Helen Sloan)

(Newser)
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Are you a would-be cord-cutter who wishes you could buy access to HBO Go without having cable? Well you sort-of can—with a little help from your cable company. Yes, most major cable providers are offering semi-secret packages that include Internet, a token bare-minimum cable package, and HBO, reports Geoffrey Fowler at the Wall Street Journal.

"It's like ordering off the secret menu at In-and-Out Burger—you have to know what to ask for," Fowler explains. Here's what to ask for:

Comcast: Internet Plus

Time Warner Cable: Starter TV+HBO and an Internet plan

Verizon: 50/25 Mbps + Local News and Sports + HBO

AT&T: HBO Internet Plus

Of course, if you already have a more robust cable package, be careful. Because, as we learned this week, calling to downgrade your service can seriously suck.

I can already get HBO without cable. Call me when I can get Red Zone without cable.

Professor59

Jul 16, 2014 6:25 PM CDT

Cut the cord and don't look back. I get better uptime and better HD with a plain antenna. I only get 4 channels, but that covers 80% of everything I watched anyway. For the rest, well, let's just say I kept the internet on and don't lose too much sleep over where my day-old TV comes from.